INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – The Cavaliers cut their roster to the
required 15 players Friday, and they began their march toward the season opener
Wednesday with a stretch of practices intended to shore up the details of
precisely who will be included in the rotation.

And in the midst of all that, last year's starting center
worked out, played his way through some contact drills, and generally tried to
regain his conditioning.

Do you remember Tyler Zeller? The 7-foot, second-year center
has become the Cavaliers' forgotten man as he's missed the entire preseason
with a string of bad luck that included first a hip injury, and then the
removal of his appendix.

Zeller worked up a sweat Friday while battling one-on-one
with roster-cut survivor Henry Sims and then ran on the treadmill.

His return from his appendectomy Oct. 11 has been a slow and
arduous process, and he is not yet cleared for full-contact practice, he said.

But the player who last season averaged 7.9 points and 5.7
rebounds is better today than he was yesterday, and that's an improvement.

"I'm just glad I'm finally moving a little bit," Zeller
said. "I'm able to actually shoot a little bit. I haven't gotten as far as I'd
like to. It's been frustrating, but at the same time, also encouraging that I'm
starting to get back into it."

In the meantime, Anderson Varejao has returned from his own
string of bad health luck over the last three seasons and secured his starting
center slot. Tristan Thompson has ably adapted to shooting right-handed after a
lifetime spent shooting left-handed, and is the Cavaliers' solid and promising
power forward.

Even Andrew Bynum, according to the Cavaliers, is steadily
working his way back from knee surgery in March and is another 7-footer on the
roster who will swallow loads of minutes if he can regain his health.

Which leaves Zeller where, exactly?

"You know he's there obviously because he's been around and
he's participated in some practices and stuff like that," Cavaliers coach Mike
Brown said. "But the one thing I try not to do with injuries is get caught up
into when a guy's coming back, because as soon as you start doing that, that's
all you're thinking about. And they never come back when you think they're
supposed to come back."

No timetable has been set for Zeller's return – which is not
expected for the season opener against Brooklyn – and no plan has been made for
his role on the team, either.

That part, Zeller knows, is up to him.

"I've got to prove myself," he said. "You've got to prove
yourself every year, and obviously I'm a little behind just because I didn't
get to play in the preseason games. I've got a lot of catching up to do. ... It's
something where I've got to prove myself, and I understand that. It's going to
be a challenge but at the same time I'm ready for it."

The toughest part for Zeller, so far, is conditioning. He
was forced to be idle for so long while he recovered from surgery that he is
starting from Square One.

"I hate getting in shape," Zeller lamented. "I'm actually
one of those people that I hate getting in shape so much that I try not to get
out of shape. This is probably the first time I've been completely out of shape
in a few years. It's not fun getting back in shape."

And while he hopes the Cavaliers haven't forgotten about
him, Zeller also is hopeful that he hasn't forgotten how to play with his
Cavaliers.

"Probably the hardest part will be the game speed of
everything," Zeller said. "As far as when you run through plays with no
defense, it's easy. But when you start having to make defensive reads and all
that, it becomes a little more difficult. Probably getting in the flow of that
will be the hardest part."

Sims, Dellavedova
make team: The Cavaliers waived four players from their roster Friday,
which meant, as expected, guard Matthew Dellavedova and center Henry Sims made
the team.

The Cavaliers final roster will not be official until it is
submitted by the Monday 5 p.m. deadline, but Sims said he saw his name above a
full-time locker in the practice facility when he walked in, and grinned.

"I've been working hard, not only since I've been here, but
since I've been out of school," said the 2012 Georgetown product. "I'm happy to
get a reward for my hard work."

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